NAIROBI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's rugby Sevens team will not rest on their laurels after surpassing their target in the World Series as they work around the clock to be ready for the World Cup in San Francisco, United States from July 20-22.
The Kenya team returned home on Tuesday from Paris with their heads held high after they made history finishing eighth overall in the standing with 104 points.
Kenya's best show before this season was in the 2012/2013 season under the tutelage of England's Mike Friday when they hit the 99 point mark.
The team won the Challenge trophy in London before claiming a 13th place finish at the season ending tournament in Paris on 10 June.
Speaking to Xinhua in Nairobi on arrival from Paris, head coach Innocent Simiyu was optimistic they will shuffle the feathers at the World Cup to wind up a successful campaign.
"We didn't get the results that we wanted in London and Paris but we are very happy with the boys in terms of performance. If you look at it in terms of performance, this was our best performance. Looking at Paris, this is the first time we were in a tough pool and we managed to win two games and lose out on point's difference," said Simiyu.
"We were in another tough pool in London and raised our hand. If we would have managed to get to the quarters we would have been talking about something else," he added.
Kenya closed out the Sevens World Series in eighth position with 104 points, a four-place push from the position 12 last season. Simiyu said the hunger and improvement in the team is down to support received from donors and sponsors and asked the team to focus more on training.
This was Simiyu's second season in charge of Kenya team after the departure of South Africa's Paul Treu.
In the first season, Simiyu guided Kenya to 12th place with just 63 points and at one time concerns were raised if the team could avoid relegation. But the coach has turned around the tide and reaped the fruit of the confidence Kenya Rugby Union showed in him as he took his side to the highest point tally ever.
The team takes a 10-day break before assembling on June 21 to begin preparations for the Rugby World Cup Sevens.
